Lietuvos Rytas had a strong start at the Torneo Citta di Roma by thrashing Lottomatica Roma 95-68 in Group A on Monday. Mantas Mockevicius led the winners with 27 points. Martynas Paliukenas added 14, Tomas Lekunas had 12, Mindaugas Kacinas got 11 while Arturas Gudaitis contributed 10 for L. Rytas. Matteo Tambone led Lottomatica with 15 points. Gabriele Carrano added 10 for Roma. Mockevicius led L. Rytas to a strong start and allowed his team to get a seven-point lead, 24-17, at the end of the first quarter. Roma did not give up, however, as three-pointers by Lorenzo Ralli, Tambone, Riccardo Ferrarese and Carrano brought their team back to life. An unstoppable Mockevicius, who had 23 points before halftime, sank back-to-back triples to make L. Rytas restore a 41-38 edge at the break. Another triple by Tambone kept Roma within 43-41 early in the third quarter. It didn't last long, as L. Rytas used a 14-1 run that Lekunas capped with a triple to break the game open, 57-42. Another 8-0 run soon allowed the Lithuanian powerhouse to boost its margin to 73-47 after 30 minutes. Nothing changed since that moment, as L. Rytas kept a safe margin all the way until the final buzzer.